One-Way Ticket to Seattle

On Tuesday, January 27, I dusted off my mountain bike (literally), pumped the tires up and headed out. It was a local holiday and I was off from work and feeling stir crazy being in my apartment, with no car and no desire to book another Uber and get asked, “American?” I wanted to feel normal and do something I would do at home – and see what adventure I could find on two-wheels.

I found goats in front of this house.

I fell off my bike in this rock quarry. Long story for another post, but I can confirm Indian flies love the taste of blood. ;/

I got about half-a-mile from my apartment all I could think was, “WHAT?!? Have you never seen a white girl on a mountain bike?!?” I realized the answer was no, but it didn’t make the shouting, cat calling and constant honking that happened as every motorcycle, tuktuk, semi-truck, Uber and car went by.  I climbed up a road that went to a distant “rock hill” I could see from my apartment. As I took the turns, winded, two men passed me on a motorcycle and yelled something I couldn’t understand. Then I came around the next corner and they were there, off their bike, and shouting some more. The only word I could make out was selfie. I think they wanted me to get off my bike, in the middle of nowhere, with no one else around, and take pictures with them. No chance in hell.

I got home and did two things:

1. Got on Amazon and ordered two cans of mace/pepper spray
2. Counted how many days I had been here. It was 90.

The VP I moved here to work for asked me for a 2.5 year commitment. It was why I sold my condo in Eugene, sold Dave, got rid of SOOO much stuff, and went light on the move. Yet that Sunday, I was feeling the fatigue of living here and I still had 640 days to go. The biking experience was on the heels of other challenges that I had encountered, but not shared on social media. Part of it was absorbing the learnings and taking in the challenges – part of it was not wanting to worry my family and friends.

Less than two weeks later, we had a team meeting with my manager and his direct reports. He announced that he had made the decision to retire. He said he’d be here through September, but in corporate land, you know to expect immediate shifts and changes with an announcement like this.

I hung up the phone and literally put my right hand over my heart and looked up. I wasn’t sure what or who I was looking at, but I needed the Universe to hear my acknowledgement. “Thank you. You heard me… that was faster than I could have ever hoped for.” I had realized the day before that I was learning through the discomfort, but that the challenges of being a female, single, and white, were obstacles I couldn’t overcome because it was who I am as a human  – and it was absolutely exhausting – on every level.

I already had a few trips to the US planned in February for work conferences, so I attended those and kept an open minded in reconnecting and possibly finding another opportunity that would get me home. The biggest lesson and a-ha for me was that I felt like me. I was in Seattle and I felt at home. I was in my own skin, people didn’t stare at me, and I knew when I needed the perfect restaurant to go to with my friend Sally, that Pink Door would be ideal. A few weeks later I was in Anaheim, and there I saw so many old colleagues… people that I loved working with and had deep respect for. It felt so damn good. I know it is work, but if you are going to feel home at work, a big handful of these folks were ones I’d want hanging at my house.

I met Piyu right after moving her. Moksha and I absolutely adore her, Iris, her daughter Aura, her husband Saran and her parents. They have been a daily source of joy and comfort. And FWIW, Moksha is the alpha between her and Iris. Ha!

At the end of February, while in the US,  I reached out to somebody that I thought might be hiring a communications person, as she had recently taken on a new role. Now, three weeks later, I’m ecstatic to share that I have accepted the job she formally offered, and I will be moving back to the US and based in Seattle. If I had tried to plan this, it would have never happened. But now I’ll be close to a good portion of my family and so many dear friends. It has been 10 years since my ex-husband insisted, we leave Seattle and move to Vegas so he could be a poker pro. Now, I’m making the choice to go back home and it feels empowering and freeing. There are still a ton of logistics to still work through, but Moksha and I will be heading home, and we will be making a special road trip to pick up PennyG.

There were two travel experiences I wanted to do while I was here, so as soon as this all came to fruition I contacted a travel agent and booked both trips. I will be visiting:

• Varanasi (known as The City of Moksha and ehe living symbol of the Hindu renaissance, one of the holiest pilgrimages of Hindu religion). I will also go to Sarnath this weekend (one of the 4 Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the world, and where Buddha gave his first teachings after becoming enlightened) this weekend.
• Next weekend I will be in Bodhgaya, where Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.

This is my favorite guard at my apartment. He adores Mok and is incredibly kind to both me and Mamatha.

I’m soaking up every moment I can. I have so many stories and anecdotes I want to share about what it has been like here, but I’m still processing it. Some of it I’m still trying to understand. I want to make sure I respect the lessons and the people. I do know that I have made friends that I will keep for life. They will get carefully placed in my Precious People Medicine Cabinet, which is of course in the cloud, so that I carry them with me wherever I go.

Mamatha’s son, Lakhi, takes such good care of Mok when I’m away for work. He gets to stay the night and they both love it!

So with that, thank you all for the loving support the past 5 months. Having the connections on social media, the text and WhatsApp messages, the video chats, the surprise cards in the mail… it has all made the experience easier for me, but I felt the love of so many.

The other day, my friend Tam shared a quote with me. She had no idea how perfect it was;

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

Namaste.